Dude, where's my PS3 jailbreak?

Trent Nouveau, 19th August 2010

W00t! The PS3 - which is locked down tighter than Fort Knox during a Democratic fundraiser - has allegedly been jailbroken.

An Australian retailer known as OzModChips.com posted a number of YouTube clips demonstrating the purported hack which is activated simply by plugging in a $170 (Australian) USB stick into the system.

Once cracked, "PS Jailbreak" allows PS3 owners to run back-up copies of games and pirated titles.

And, best of all, the hack supposedly works with firmware 3.41 on all PlayStation 3 models, including the recently introduced PS3 Slim.

"What's crazy is that hackers have said that these ripped games run two times faster than they do on Blu-ray. Homebrew will also be supported with this PS Jailbreak mod," wrote Destructoid's Dale North.

"What this does is essentially turn a PS3 into a debug unit. It's plug and play and works with the latest firmware. [So], no invasive console hacking! [Sure], Sony is probably sh*tting their pants right now, but I'd calm down if I were them. This could even help system sales!"

"We write this with such cautious language because hackers have hailed the PlayStation 3 as a console Everest. Sony baked extremely strong security into the system, and though the PS3 has been hacked by a few tinkerers (including George Hotz, the first person to unlock the iPhone), no tried-and-true mod has emerged," explained Chen.

"[So], until we can get our hands on a one of these USB dongles, color us skeptical. The fact that the 'PS Jailbreak' website doesn't seem to be working right now doesn't give us much confidence."